Well Received

Jaguars still don't have impact receiver, but it isn't really needed

JACKSONVILLE -- The Jaguars wanted someone anyone to emerge as a top-flight receiver. As they prepared for 2007, they pushed all the buttons they knew:

They gave veteran free agent Dennis Northcutt a $17-million contract despite designating him as a slot receiver.

Coach Jack Del Rio challenged/insulted veterans Reggie Williams and Matt Jones in the off-season, demoting them with the hope they'd get angry and get better.

Del Rio let it be know it was time for second-year tight end Marcedes Lewis to prove himself.

Finally, the Jags added rookie receivers Mike Walker and John Broussard in the April draft.

All were messages that the Jags meant business in their search for help for an offense that, in their own words, kept them out of the playoffs.

The big surprise, though, was yet to come. Turns out the Jags might not need a No. 1 receiver to get to the playoffs.

Jacksonville is 10-4 and one win away from clinching a playoff spot because quarterback David Garrard doesn't need a go-to guy. Del Rio's best passing game features four important receivers, a tight end and a running back who give Garrard so many options that opponents aren't sure where the football's going.

"I think we're all understanding the philosophy behind this offense," Ernest Wilford said. "David has confidence in all of us, so if he sees a defense playing two-man (double team) on one guy, he can just throw somewhere else."

The numbers bear him out: the Jags are one of only two NFL teams with a winning record without a receiver in the top 50 in catches. (Tennessee is the other.) Jags leader Northcutt has 43 receptions, below the 49-catch cutoff point for league leaders.

Consider the NFL's leading pass-catcher, Cincinnati's T.J. Houshmandzadeh, has 101 catches, and 13 others in the league have at least 80.

"You know, it's not about the individual numbers as much as it's about the total numbers, what they all are together," Garrard said of his receivers. "We get to third down, they've been making the catches. That's our money down around here."

It turned out the Jags didn't much from their rookie receivers because Northcutt passed along his work habits to his fellow receivers and to the tight ends.

Northcutt left Cleveland after a 22-catch season and was supposed to energize Jacksonville's punt returns and shepherd a wayward receiving corps that included three No. 1 picks Williams, Jones and Lewis. He's second in the AFC in punt returns, but Del Rio will argue he's No. 1 in leadership.

"Dennis has been a great influence for our football team in terms of work ethic and approach," Del Rio said, putting free-agent right tackle Tony Pashos in the same group. "They're the right kind of guys doing it the right way. They're putting in extra. They're finding ways to be pros and to make sure not only that they're at the top of their game but that they're bringing someone with them."

The someones are Williams and Lewis. The exception is Jones, a former first-round pick.

Although Jones has made catches in key spots a one-handed touchdown grab in the fourth quarter at Tampa Bay that provided the winning points, for example his playing time tumbled, and he's on track for a career-low in receptions.

Meanwhile, Williams may have turned around his career. After a 2006 season that included dwindled playing time and a sideline shouting spree with fans, Del Rio demoted Williams and Jones by lining them up with the second and third units during mini-camp, organized team activities and training camp.

Del Rio also brought in Todd Monken from LSU to re-motivate the receivers. After a tough honeymoon period, the marriage has been blissful.

Although his reception total (32) will fall short of last year's (52), Williams learned to parlay his key strength which is strength into a hallmark. He has muscled past defensive backs for a career-high eight touchdowns, one shy of the Jags' single-season record.

"First of all, I think he had to get an idea of what we were all about and how he to coach each individual guy," Williams said. "It took place about Week 3 before we all understood him. You had to get some weeks into the season to see how he wanted to approach game week."

Garrard, who has ridden his receivers' hands, in part, to become the NFL's second-rated passer, ahead of Peyton Manning, Tony Romo and Brett Favre and behind only Tom Brady, has another theory: success breeds confidence and confidence triggers more success.

"They're seeing, hey, Dave's throwing the ball to everybody. They're running routes knowing the ball could come their way on any play."